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Dusty Old Thing

This wonderful log house dating from 1779 was the home of Darlene’s great-great-great-grandfather. It’s now a museum in Techumseh, Ontario! It’s so fantastic that a home built by an ancestor that long ago is still standing. We can just imagine the history it saw!

Diana writes that her very old cooking hearth with its baking and warming ovens is one of the best things in her old home. Those of us who are fascinated by the construction of old kitchen fireplaces and ovens are always intrigued by them. We can just imagine, too, the dishes and breads that were prepared there in days long, long ago. Thank you, Diana, for sharing this photo with our Dusty Old Thing antiques community.

Diane’s window is captivating. She posted this photo for the bottle collection that seems to be standing sentinel over the snowy woods, but we can’t help but love her window. That dark green is such a classic vintage color for woodwork trim. It’s getting harder to find original windows in old homes. The whole scene makes one think of Robert Frost poetry.

Those of us fortunate enough to live, or have lived, in a classic Victorian cottage see all the major design elements perfectly maintained in Margaret’s entry way. The angled staircase, the stained glass window, the strong newel post. Her home was built in 1890. She also adds,

“Thesideboard was covered with magic markers, crayons and paint when I rescued it. And the capodiomonte flower basket was in about 100 pieces. Ilove to bring dusty broken old things back to life.“

Yes, it’s an outhouse. We at Dusty once vowed never to feature a photo of an outhouse, but here we are. This is a fairly typical 1930’s variety, probably built after the push for better “facilities” in the Roosevelt administration, but what is interesting is the artwork found inside it. One of our Dusty Old Thing members, Diane, writes,

“Myvintage two seater outhouse, needed a new roof 4 years ago, is fully functioning and dates to about 1930. My children and their friends used it when swimming to keep them out of the house. My Father-in-law and family used this. When I moved into my house there was a bathroom, builtin the 60;s (in the pantry), but the tub was being used as a “broom” closet. In the early 80’s we moved the outhouse about 10 feet and treasured hunted the “hole”, where we found bottles and cans and other goodies. I have a primitive painting that was on the door, and a small oil painting of what looks like a witch that was on the wall, which I will post.The window slides to open.“

The following two interesting primitive-type paintings were inside the outhouse:

Finding unusual things in old spaces is always intriguing. There’s so much mystery in our old built spaces.

Thank you all for sharing your photos and descriptions with our antiques community. There’s so much to learn, so much mystery.